Be wise- Identify Rheumatic Diseases Early | Q&As

What is rheumatology?

Rheumatology is a subspeciality of Medicine which deals with various types of arthritis, connective tissue diseases and vasculitis

What are rheumatic diseases?

They are medical diseases causing painful condition of the musculoskeletal system( joints, tendons ligaments etc).

What are the symptoms of arthritis?

Most kinds of arthritis cause pain, swelling and stiffness in joints. There can be fever and fatigue

What is the cause of arthritis?

It can be autoimmunity(when your body immunity attacks its own tissues by mistake),wear and tear, crystal depostion and infections. Rheumatoid arthritis, Ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic, reactive arthritis etc are autoimmune arthritis. Osteoarthritis is because of wear and tear in the joints. Gout happens when too much uric acid builds up in the body. It often starts in the big toe. Infection is a less common cause of arthritis

Does arthritis affect other parts of our body?

Most kinds of arthritis can also cause problems in our organs, such as our eyes or skin or lungs or kidneys and nerves. There is increased chance ofgettingincrease in heart diseases and shorten the lifespan

Can back pain be arthritis too?

Back pain with a prolonged morning stiffness can be ankylosing spondylosis which is called back arthritis and if not treated can cause fused spine with restricted movement of spine and reduced life span.

What are connective tissue disease(CTDs)?

The connective tissue diseases are diseases when our binding tissues are diseased Systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE (affects kidneys, blood cells, nerves, blood vessels, spine and brain)Sjogrens disease, Scleroderma are some examples

How to suspect one has CTDs?

Common symptoms are joint pain and swelling, fever, dryness of mouth and eyes, skin rashes especially after sun exposure, tightening of skin, attacks of blue discolouration of finger tips in cold , breathlessness and fatigue etc

What is vasculitis?

Vasculitis is dreaded form of disease that affects our blood vessel wall and compromises blood supply to various organs and can be life threatening

It is important to see a rheumatologist for musculoskeletal diseases to start an early and optimal treatment.

Some red flag sign are of arthritis are fever, fatigue, joint pain with swellings and don’t wait to see a rheumatologist

Don’t delay, meet today!